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NAMA urges senator to give evidence to gardaí

Senator Darragh O'Brien said he is concerned about information relating to NAMA

The National Asset Management Agency has called on a Fianna Fáil senator to give gardaí any evidence he may have of impropriety by the agency's staff.

It follows comments by Senator Darragh O’Brien, who earlier said he was in receipt of information that, in his view, would rock the foundations of NAMA.

Speaking in the Seanad, he called on the Taoiseach, Minister for Finance or Minister for Justice to clarify if the Garda Commissioner has been asked to carry out an investigation into corruption and impropriety at the agency.

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In a statement, NAMA said that Mr O'Brien had not shared any evidence he had with them, nor had it received such evidence from a third party.

It said that anyone with evidence of any impropriety was legally obliged to bring it to the immediate attention of gardaí.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for gardaí said he could confirm that it had received a complaint lodged by NAMA in relation to a former employee.

He said the investigation is at an advanced stage and it would not be prudent to comment further.

In his comments in the Seanad, Mr O'Brien said the information he had was so serious that it could undermine NAMA, the property sector and Ireland's financial sectors.

He referred to allegations made over the last few years regarding how some former NAMA staff used information they got during their time in the agency.

Mr O'Brien suggested that information has been leaked to third parties and vulture funds to confer a financial advantage on them, which would ensure they could profit on the back of taxpayers and, in the process, shut down viable businesses.